News for April 19, 1997

Rolf's Diary Update

During training this morning I passed by St. Pietersberg in Maastrich. That was good for my head, as I remembered my sprint victory against Gianni Bugno at the Amstel Gold WC Race. I'm already looking forward to this race on the following Sunday. But first the Ardennes classic is lined up, which we'll ride tomorrow, at least a little of it. The feeling in my legs was good today, hopefully that'll stay a while.

Liege, 18 April 97

Liege-Bastogne-Liege is one of the most difficult races there is!. That was confirmed again today, we rode the last 120km by bike, only up and down, no flat metre. And the climbs: Stockau narrow and steep, Haute Levee wide and steep, La Redoute steep and very steep, etc. An early decisive split will fall in the area around Stockau, and on La Redoute the best "gear chokers" (39/23) will come to the fore. After that there are only 20km left until the finish.

By the way, there were already spectators on the course trying to secure the best places.

Translated by David Wear